Anutin rules out lockdown despite level 4 Covid alert

He said the level 4 alert was aimed at reminding people to maintain distance, work from home and avoid gatherings to contain the spread of the virus.

He assured that Thailand would not impose a lockdown, and asked people to calm down as the number of Covid-19 cases in many countries had risen as well.

"Thailand should seek the best solution to deal with the pandemic," he said. "Even though people can be infected with Omicron easily, they can recover quickly too, while the infection symptoms are not severe compared to other variants."

Anutin added that the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration would discuss immigration measures, on whether to continue with RT-PCR tests for tourists on the fifth day of their arrival in Thailand.

He said the fifth-day test was likely to be scrapped as most new Covid-19 patients were found among people in the country rather than among foreigners.

Anutin dubbed as untrue news of Covid-19 patients lying on pavements waiting for help. He said there are enough beds in hospitals to treat patients.

He also confirmed that Covid-19 patients who develop severe symptoms can receive free treatment under the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients, but patients who are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms should receive treatment at home so that the public health system is not overloaded.